Tag: Chinese submarine in Indian Ocean

Reports of a Chinese submarine docking in Karachi, after having lurked past Indian waters, have the potential to raise tensions in India’s maritime neighbourhood. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Indian waters as similar visits by Chinese submarines were made to Colombo over the past one year. When China’s deadliest submarine the ‘Yuan Class 335’ crossed the Arabian Sea and docked in Karachi on May 22, it was enough to alert the Indian Navy and the security establishment considering that the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) is today probably the most important water body strategically for major powers of the world.

The submarine is reported to have spent a few days in Karachi, refuelling and restocking, before sailing back to China with close to 65 crew members, according to some reports. The Yuan-class submarine ‘335’, is equipped with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and an air-independent propulsion that dramatically enhances its underwater endurance. Given these capabilities of the Chinese submarines, concerns in New Delhi are understandable.